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Updated on
August 29, 2008,
D.J.
asks from
Fort Lauderdale, FL
on
August 27, 2008

Speech Therapy- How Often ?

hi moms,
i'm not sure how often i should take my son(20 months old) for speech therapy sessions ?
we do pay out of pocket(they don't take our type of insurance).
i like the girl that works with us and the place is nice&close to my home(also our pediatrician recomended them)
they did an evaluation and said for his age he is slightly behind but also said he is probablly going to be a "late talker".
she recomended speech therapy once a week or every other week(our choice), but she has been scheduleing us once a week for the past month.
its getting hard for my husband and i to both take off work for the sessions every week...
however i'm not sure if he needs to be going once a week or every other week-
again, he is 20 months old, so its kind of like a 30 minute "play with toys" session.
please don't get me wrong, he has made improvement in this past month, but we(parents) learn from her what to work on and then we do the same routines at home each day with him.
so if any of you moms have taken your child to speech therapy can you let me know how often you took them and if it was the right choice for you ?
thanks,
D.

More Answers

L.O.
answers from
Miami
on
August 28, 2008

D.:

I personally don't believe in Speach Therapy for such a young baby. I have over 20 years experience with babies 0-3 years and all of the eventually speak just fine, given time. I had 2 sisters that didn't say a work until 3 years old and then didn't shut up. It is actually a sign of intelligence...they absorb all that is going on around them and soon you will be amazed at what they know and know what to say and when to apply certain terminology.
My daughter is now 2 years and 9 months...she spoke bits and pieces little by little from 12 months until 30 months....the ALL OF THE SUDDEN she speaks to me like a teenager...we actually have conversations like girlfriends!!! She counts in 3 languages and more.
JUST GIVE IT TIME...THEY WILL ALL TALK, PEE AND POO IN THE TOILET, WALK AND LEARN SOME MANNERS BEFORE THEY ARE MARRIED:)
Good Luck
L.

First of all if he is delayed, then he could be eligible for free speech therapy from the state. You need to contact Child Find/FDLRS. My son was delayed and he got free therapy from the state. I took him after work to therapy but if I couldn't make their hours, they would've gone to his daycare to do the therapy there.
Speech therapy for the little ones is usually done through playing with toys but, if done correctly, is amazing. My son first went for speech therapy at 19 months. At the time he didn't say one word. By the end of the first month he had a vocabulary of 10 words. By the time he was two he was only slightly behind. When the funding ended, when he was three, he was the best speaker in his pre-school class. He is now 5 and in kindergarten and his speech and vocabulary far exceeds those in his class.
Good luck.

Hi D.,
As a speech therapist, I'd say you have to go with what you can afford. If your son is making progress and you feel he'll still make progress every other week, do it. You may also decide that you are able to recreate these "play sessions" yourselves without her.
You know in your heart what the right thing to do for your family is.
Good luck,
S.
If you have any further questions, you can call me at ###-###-####
www.createwealth.myarbonne.com

I started taking my son last year. He's 4.5 now. I kind of wish I started earlier, but I figured he'd catch up eventually. He got to the point where he would throw himself on the ground crying if someone couldn't understand him. At that age they have tons to say :) Anyway, his therapist came to the school 2x/wk (most of the time). It made it so much easier on me. It took a while but I definiltey know she made a difference. I think you probably should stick with at least once a week. I know - it's so expensive... but at that age they really need consistency and repitition. Our therapist was Carol Ruback. Not sure where your son is during the day, but she is in the Pembroke Pines and Weston area.

Yes, it's possible for some children just to catch up on their own, but that doesn't mean you ignore a problem that you know exists. We know much more about speech delays and how to help children past them than we did even 10 years ago, and I feel sure that if mothers and therapists knew then what we know today the mothers would have gotten their children assistance.

Anyway, back to you! At 20 months old I would not be freaking out that he was speech delayed, but because learning at this age is like building blocks - they need the basis of one thing before they can move onto the next- IMO it's irresponsible not to get a child who is delayed help.

My son was delayed and I got him evaluated through ChildFind. They came right to my home to evaluate him, and they came to my home from the therapies - all at no cost to me. He only needed therapy 2x per month,then 1x per month and by the time he "aged out" of the program when he turned three we ended therapy. His therapist thought he was all caught up anyway - mostly by what we were doing at home - so we didn't have him evaluated by the school system at that point (at age 3 if you still want services they must be evaluated by the school system and therapy becomes school-based).

A few months ago I went ahead and had him evaluated by the schools, just to be sure. He didn't qualify for any services. He's just started VPK (another great, free program) and is 100% on target in all areas.

So, I'd investigate ChildFind, and see how it goes. If you think your son needs more services than they are willing to give then you can consider private therapy in addition.

Another responder mentioned how her son threw tantrums when he wasn't being understood. My son was the same age yours is when I first contacted ChildFind on the recommendation of his pediatrician, who told me, "You don't want a 2 year old who isn't talking. Two years olds get very angry when they can't communicate or are misunderstood."

Hi D.
It really depends on what the Speech Evaluation says. I have seen kid go from 1 to 3 times a week. Before you pay out of pocket though I would recomend calling Child Find. There number is ###-###-####. They will evaluate your child for free and provided the services that he needs until the age of 3. So if they feel he needs 2 days a week of speech that is what he will get at no cost to you. They used to even have therapists that would come to your home if you prefer. Then after 3 he would go into the school system or you could choose to pay privatly then.
Hope that helps.